Software Modem for Kill Vehicle & IFICS

This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop an innovative hardware and software which provides communications to an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV). Two candidate architectures are proposed that will function on a vehicle that is severely constrained in size, weight, and power, operating within a radiation-saturated environment, experiencing a high Doppler effect, and communicating through a scintillating channel. The architecture that best meets the requirements of this application will be implemented in Phase II. The first architecture is a solution based on a pair of FPGAs. Its key innovation is the coupling of a reconfigurable FPGA and a radiation hardened one time programmable (OTP) FPGA. The OTP FPGA will be used as a repository for various functional blocks, while the reprogrammable FPGA will be used as the configuration manager. The second architecture is a solution based on a DSP core implemented in an OTP FPGA. Its key innovation is the use of the OTP FPGA to implement a DSP core, complementary signal processing functions, and an error detection and correction unit. The Phase I project aims to accomplish the following five objectives. The first objective is to specify two different test waveforms that will function in a scintillating channel. The second objective is to verify the performance of the waveforms in a scintillating channel. The third objective is to a produce a high level block diagram of a transceiver that can support either waveform. The fourth objective is to specify two hardware architectures capable of running either waveform. The fifth objective is to compare the architectures and determine which is best suited for the application.